PHASE I. Application Process.
Each student will have to submit:
Admission Application, Essay, Parent/Student Agreement, Mentoring Agreement, CDBG Intake Form, Transcripts, and a Mentoring Profile.
All paperwork will be collected by our e-Manager. Upon receipt of all paperwork the e-Manager will create and maintain a contact list for all students. The e-Manager will also maintain individual files for each student.
PHASE II. Interview Process
After all paperwork has been received by the e-Manager (Raquel Taylor - Graduate of the program and NIU), the Interview Committee (headed by Astin Hayes - Graduate of the program, Board Member and graduate of the University of Miami) will schedule an interview. The Interview committee will not conduct interviews for anyone who arrives late for their scheduled appointment. They will identify students that are not ready to participate in a college bound program and allow them to interview at another time - those students will not be considered rejected. All interview forms with a status (Accepted, Not Accepted, or Re-Interview) will be turned in to the e-Manager.
PHASE III. Orientation Process
The e-Manager will inform the Orientation Committee (Headed by Katie Jones) of all students that have been accepted into the program. An orientation date will be setup for the student (Orientations are individual). During the orientation session the student will be given their Make A Difference Youth Foundation email account and the name of their mentor. During the orientation session, the student will sign on to the e-tutoring website and conduct a live 30 minute tutoring session with a tutor - while under the supervision of the individual facilitating the Orientation. At this time the student will become familiar with the e-tutoring website and the components that will be required on their computer to hold a tutoring session. After the student has completed the orientation (and a complete tutoring session), the orientation facilitator will contact the e-Manager to add the student to the active list.
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
We will use each of our program components in the development of each student. The etutoring program will be a weekly academic enhancement geared towards helping students achieve success in math and science. Tutors will provide feedback on each subject that will be used to measure the students progress. The feedback will be shared with the teaching staff at the student's school to help focus on the students problem areas. The students will work with their e-mentors in identifying academic areas of concern, as well as career guidance. Mentors will work with the foundation in providing college and career information. Mentors will provide feedback on issues that their mentee mentions that will require the attention of the foundation.
Other program components will be tied into student development and include: community service, college trips, videoconferences, workshops and ACT prep classes. The components are not simply a requirement that we are forcing students to participate in, they are a means of providing meaningful assistance. We will use weekly etutoring sessions to help students build upon their success and repeat the process until it becomes common knowledge.
STUDENT RETENTION
We have two e-monitors (former program graduates Jay and Nicole Jones - both with college GPAs over 3.0) that will receive a list each Monday, Wednesday and Friday of students that have not emailed their mentor or completed a tutoring session during the week. The e-monitors will call and speak to each student on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to remind them to email their mentor and complete (not just schedule) a tutoring session. Students will be encouraged to set a tutoring session before the weekend to give them time to reschedule if something comes up. The e-Manager will maintain a log of all communication and feed back from mentors and tutors. We will be able to use the feedback to monitor - on a monthly basis - the progress of each student to ensure that we are providing them with the resources that they need to succeed.
